There is quite a difference between the idea of looking out
from the inside and looking in from the outside – especially when it comes to
people. Our bodies are not clear glass and so when we are on the outside, it is
impossible to look inside someone else. Our inner thoughts are concealed by our
outward appearance.
I have especially been thinking of this when it comes to
sight. Perhaps an ophthalmologist can
see behind the retina, but for the rest of us looking from the outside and
looking in, it isn’t possible to know what someone else is capable of seeing.
It is only the person him or her self who knows what he or she is able to see.
I was reminded of this last week. I met with some friends for
coffee. We talked of this and that and somehow or other the conversation turned
to sight challenges. I tried to explain what it was that I was able to see and
some of the things that I couldn’t see. I explained that although I was looking
across the table at one of the women, I was unable to see her face.
The woman next to me gasped. “But,” she said, “You look so
normal!”
I was glad that I appeared to look “normal”, but it
reaffirmed my premise that there is quite a difference between what our eyes
see from the outside to what they can see from the inside.
Enjoyed the pictures and listening to your details of your trip at morning coffee.
ReplyDeleteDorothy